At the mercy of demonic powers

Religion...monsoons…not necessarily a link that would immediately spring to mind, however the two are intrinsically entwined and have been since the dim and distant past. Today I thought we’d look past the science for a moment and better equip ourselves to understand not only what the monsoon means to the population, but what it ‘means’ to the population. 

Praying to the gods to provide rain to sustain crops and livestock is not a practice limited to the bounds of Asia, though it is here that the rains and the rivers themselves have gained immortal status (Clift and Plumb, 2008:223). The monsoon is a time of celebration; one festival, Kumbh Mela, is held every three years with millions attending (Figure 1). It is also a time associated with fear; during the four month monsoon season in India, it is said that Vishnu heads below the ocean to sleep and thus the Earth is under threat from demonic powers (Clift and Plumb, 2008:225).

Figure 1 - Bathing in the holy water of the Ganges on Makar Sankranti, the
first day of Maha Kumbh Mela, Allahabad, India (Daily Telegraph, AU)

The River Ganges, whose flow is fed by the monsoon, is one such sacred river and the tale of its formation is an interesting one…

   

The Ganges is personified by the Goddess Ganga (Figure 2) who is integral to the formation of the River Ganges. In one such tale she was formed after Brahma (the creator god) had washed the feet of Vishnu (the sustainer god) and it was from this water that Ganga emerged. Our tale progresses to a time where King Sagara, a Vedic King, magically attained sixty thousand sons and performed a ritual for the good of his kingdom; a ritual requiring a horse. Upon finding the horse had been stolen, King Sagara sent his sons out to search, and they discovered the creature in the underworld beside a meditating sage. Accusations of theft and insults rained down causing the sage to open his eyes for the first time in years, upon which all sixty thousand were burnt to death and their souls bound to walk the Earth as ghosts (The Life of Ganga)

Figure 2 - The Goddess Ganga standing upon a lotus
(British Museum Collection)

Some time later, Bhagiratha, a Hindu King and descendent of one of the unfortunate souls wandering the Earth, prayed to Brahma that his ancestors souls could be freed to proceed to heaven. Brahma sent Ganga down, first to the Earth to free Bhagiratha's ancesters, and then onto the nether regions. Ganga, somewhat aggrieved by this turn of events, vowed to destroy the Earth as she fell from the heavens. Bhagiratha, upon discovering this, prayed once more, this time to Shiva (the destroyer god) for help. Ganga’s decent was interrupted as she fell onto Shiva’s head and became bound within his hair, where Shiva broke Ganga up into smaller streams and saved the Earth. Ganga for her trouble, ended up passing into the nether regions but left a different stream on the Earth, one that would serve to purify souls and thus the Ganges was born, its heritage to the gods and link to the monsoon cemented (Clift and Plumb, 2008:225). For many the monsoon and the rivers it feeds are not just the life-blood of the land, but so much more. I think to truly understand the monsoon, you must have an appreciation of how ingrained it is in both the daily lives and the culture of millions...